


A Daring Escape

by clarasdoctahs (HooperMolly)



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Fix-It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-26
Updated: 2014-09-26
Packaged: 2018-02-18 20:37:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2361428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HooperMolly/pseuds/clarasdoctahs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU - The tenth doctor picks up a distress call from the dalek asylum and rescues Oswin before she is converted into a dalek.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Daring Escape

She’s pressed up against a wall by a Dalek, begging and crying and confused. Then there’s a single word, a single word spoken by an angel that sends the Dalek spiralling away, screaming for reinforcements in its inhuman screech of a voice. 

“Come on, there’s not much time.” He says, grabbing her hand and taking off with her stumbling along behind. 

Her legs feel like jelly and her heart is beating somewhere in the region of her throat but there’s no time to stop, no time to think. They run and run until they find a room filled with row upon row of data storage drives. Loose wires hang dangerously from terminals, a layer of dust coating everything. 

“Where are we?” She asks, as the angel pulls a pair of glasses from his pocket and puts them on. 

“Dalek Asylum. I take it you’re a survivor of the crash?” He’s so casual in the way he poses the question and she knows that this is nothing new for him. What has he done, what has he seen, that this is just another day rather than the worst of his life? 

“The signal got out? I did my best to amplify it but I thought it was too weak to reach anyone.” She replies, as he starts peering at different wires, scanning them with an odd little instrument that lights up and hums. 

“That was you? Mighty good job you did with that. I’d have had a tough time myself, even with this.” He holds the instrument up for a second, smiling over at her. “Luckily I was in the area and my ship was able to pick up your frequency.” He moves fast, practically jogging up and down the rows. 

“What are you looking for? I might be able to help.” She asks, feeling terribly useless. 

“A way to shut down this base.” He replies. 

“You mean blow it up?” She questions, feeling her blood run cold. 

“I’d prefer not to, but if it comes down to that, yes.” He answers her. 

“You can’t! My crew…” She trails off, knowing that if this is a place overrun by daleks then any hope of them surviving is slim. 

“They’re all dead. Those who survived the impact were murdered. I’m so sorry. Really, I am.” There’s such immense hurt and sorrow in his eyes when he gazes over at her. Eyes that are old and sad and not quite able to meet her own. 

“It’s not your fault.” She replies automatically, closing off the part of her brain that wants to scream and wail with grief. Such despair will not help her in this moment. He smiles at over at her but she can see that he doesn’t believe her. Who is he, that he feels responsible for the actions of daleks? 

“Aha! Found it!” He yells triumphantly, tugging at a cable plugged into the wall and tracing the path it leads with his eyes. The room plunges into darkness, an inky blackness that is almost suffocating in its completeness. Silence follows shortly after as the low buzzing drone that she hadn’t noticed until the moment it ceased, enveloping the room in an impenetrable nothingness. 

“Sorry about that. Got a bit over excited. I didn’t mean to pull it out.” In the quiet dark he seems to be distant, and for a brief moment she has a wild thought that this is all just the last dying dream, that the Daleks have killed her along with everyone else and this is her brain’s way of trying to cope. 

Then she hears the awful synthesised screech of a dalek, even more distant than he was. “... and his … control room … switching to infrared vision. Two bodies detected. ... humanoid with one heart, one humanoid with two.” 

With a jolt of fear she realises that it’s getting closer and it can see her even in this choking blackness. The door opens with a soft swish, and she can see the soft blue glow of a dalek eyestalk floating into the room. She turns to run but collides with something solid but giving, nearly falling to the floor before a hand reaches out to catch her. She takes in hers and grips it like it’s keeping her alive. 

A tiny blue light illuminates the air behind her and with a loud bang, the panel beside the door explodes in a shower of sparks. There is a second glowing eyestalk making its way through, but a mechanical howl of pain and a shuddering crash tells her that the door has closed itself, trapping the unfortunate dalek in it, destroying it. 

“Oh my god.” She exclaims softly, as the blue glow flickers before fading away completely. 

“Do you trust me?” He whispers, still holding her hand. She nods before she remembers that he can’t see her. 

“Yes.” She barely gets the words out before he’s dragging her off again, sprinting through the darkness at a pace that makes her stomach drop. 

“Exterminate! Exterminate! Conversion no longer an option. Must! Be! Exterminated!” The Daleks cries, firing off shots indiscriminately into the dark, missing the fleeing pair by mere inches. 

“Would you mind telling me what the plan is? I know I said I trust you but we’re literally running blind and that thing has infrared vision.” He stops so suddenly that she goes flying past him, colliding with one of the rows of drives. 

“Do they?” He asks, as she winces with pain. 

“Ow. Yes.” She says, touching her left knee. It feels dry. It will probably bruise though. He points his instrument towards the glow of the Dalek and the light disappears. 

“I’m blind. Help! Help meeee! Help meeee! Cannot see! Cannot seeeeeee!” The Dalek screeches and she can hear it crashing into things as it panics. 

“That’ll give us a minute or so before it repairs itself, if we’re lucky.” She can almost hear the grin on his face. Now that they aren’t being fired upon, he uses his strange instrument to light the way. It casts enough light that they can see the way, running until they reach the far wall. 

“There!” He says, motioning towards a door that’s faintly visible in the dim light. 

“Great. A door. And how do we get through it when there’s no power? Unless you plan on using your not-so-secret superpower of having great hair, somehow.” He runs a hand through his hair, unconsciously straightening his spine and rolling his shoulders back as he smiles at the compliment.

“Not a problem.” He says confidently, aiming his instrument at the panel beside the door and pressing the button. She turns her face away, expecting it to explode like the first but instead the door slowly rose from the floor, light flooding in from the crack. 

“You’ll have to duck. Don’t want to give it a chance to follow us.” He says, ushering her through into the next room. It’s a small control room, big enough for perhaps two Daleks to squeeze themselves in. 

“Well, the good news is that we have power in here. The bad news is that we’re now even more trapped than we were before.” She says, glancing over the lit up display of screens in front of her. 

“I’ve been in worse situations.” He replies with a casual shrug. 

“Strangely, I believe it.” She says, eyeing him carefully. “Oh well. If this is where I die at least I’ll have a pretty boy with great hair and a cute suit by my side.” 

He raises an eyebrow, caught off guard by her flirting. “Oh. I. Well. Um. Thanks.” He stammers. 

“Awww, you’re adorable. So mystery man, this was your plan, wasn’t it? I’m willing to bet that cable you unplugged leads to a set of screens like this out there. You meant to follow it but you accidentally pulled it out instead. Am I right so far?” She asks, eyes keenly watching him. 

He nods, his eyes lighting up with glee. “One hundred percent.” 

“From one of these terminals, we could do something terrible. Because I have a feeling that this is the central command post for the whole planet, and that those data units control everything from the lights to the shell protecting the world. The shell that caused the Alaska to crash when we flew too close.” She continues. He nods again, looking impressed. 

“Yes, exactly. We could use them to blow it all up, wipe out every dalek in the asylum.” The joy fades away and the sadness returns. There’s so much resentment simmering away under the surface, she can see it, yet still his own thoughts are repulsive to him.

“We could. Or…” She trails off. Her head says wiping them out would be the smart option but her conscience warns her that she would never feel easy about that decision and neither would he. 

“Or what?” He’s curious now.

“We can’t alter the brain structure of a dalek. But we could make a few tweaks to the programming of the armour they wear. The gravity on this planet is strong enough that they don’t need to switch on their anti-gravity magnets to move around. So what if-” She starts to explain before he cuts her off excitedly. 

“So what if we switch them on, full strength? They wouldn’t be able to move! Sure, they will be able to fix it eventually but not until long after we’ve made our escape. Oh that is brilliant! You’re a genius, you are!” He lets out one of the happiest laughs she’s ever heard. 

“Yep, that’s me.” She beams at him. 

“I’m sorry, I don’t even know your name.” He says, blinking with sudden realisation. 

“Oswin Oswald.” She replies brightly. 

“I’m the Doctor.” 

“That’s your name?” She queries, frowning. 

“For the last thousand or so years, yeah.” He replies, his brow furrowing. 

“What in the universe could you have done that the mention of your name would send a dalek scrambling for reinforcements?” 

“Long story that I promise I’ll tell you some other day. Cross my hearts.” The Doctor says, tracing crosses on both sides of his chest. 

“I’ll be holding you to that, pretty boy.” Oswin tells him before turning back to face the array of screens. “These are made for daleks. How am I suppose to interface with them?” She asks, noting the lack of anything resembling a keyboard. 

“I can fix that.” The Doctor says, stepping up beside her and waving his instrument at the screens. The strange shapes and lines that had previously been displayed on the screen melted away, replaced with rows of code and an onscreen keypad. 

“Touch screen will be slower but I’ll make do.” Oswin works at a pace that even the Doctor finds hard to keep up with, fingers flying across the screen as she searches for what she needs. 

“Open the door and we will show meeeercy.” A dalek voice rings out suddenly. 

Oswin nearly screams before she realises that the demand for them to open the door means that they can’t do so themselves. 

“You locked it?” She asks the Doctor, momentarily distracted from her task. He holds up his instrument, tossing it and catching it several times. 

“I might have.” He grins, pleased with himself. 

“What is that? It seems to have a lot of uses.” She queries as she refocuses on her work. 

“Sonic screwdriver. Think of a function and it’s got it.” 

“Can you cut down a tree with it? Always had a bit of a lumberjack fantasy.” 

He hesitates before answering. “Well, no. It...It doesn’t do wood.” 

Oswin raises an eyebrow. “Well that sounds like a serious oversight.” She says without even looking at him. 

“So I’ve been told.” The Doctor sighs. 

“Good thing you’re stuck in here with such a genius then. I just have to press this button and-” She taps the screen and instinctively turns her head so that she can listen. There’s a few seconds delay before the daleks outside realise what’s happened. 

“I cannot move! Help! I cannot move! Fault in my systems! Anti-gravity magnetisation is on. I cannot move. I cannot moooove.” 

Oswin turned to the Doctor and launched herself at him, flinging her arms around his neck and letting him lift her weight off the ground. 

“We did it!” She squeals excitedly. 

“No. You did it.” The Doctor insists, as the dalek continues screaming. 

“So.” Oswin says, letting him go. 

“So.” He echoes, smiling down at her. 

“So if that’s the only door out and we’ve glued a dalek on the other side, how do we escape?” She gazes up at him expectantly. 

“I thought about that while you were computering and stuff. We’re going to leave through the vents.” He points above them to a ventilation shaft in the ceiling. Oswin stares up at it, a worried expression on her face. 

“Good thing you’re as thin as a twig because that is going to be an awfully tight fit.” 

The Doctor removes the protective grate then holds out his hands, clasped together in front of him. “You first.” 

It’s hell. Just getting into the vents is murder on Oswin’s arms, and she nearly falls out trying to reach down to help the Doctor up. 

“If I was to compliment you on your arse right now, would you be uncomfortable?” Oswin asks, as they begin the slow crawl through the vents to wherever the Doctor ends up leading them since she couldn’t both help lift him up and turn around inside the narrow shaft. 

“No. I am baffled by the timing though.” The Doctor replies, his voice slightly muffled. 

“Why? I haven’t had a chance to get a good look at it until now. As far as I can tell, the timing is spot on.” Oswin argues. 

“You’re beginning to sound like Jack.” The Doctor sighs. 

“Who’s Jack? Your boyfriend?” 

“No! Well, we did once… no, he’s not my boyfriend.” The Doctor hastily mutters.

“I can hear you smiling.” He grumbles.

“And I can hear you blushing.”

They lapse into silence, the slow progress they make through the vents sapping them of their energy. Anything faster than a shuffle is nearly impossible by the cramped dimensions of the shaft. For half an hour, Oswin’s world is reduced to the dull ache in her arms and legs, the niggling pain in her spine, and the cold confinement of her surroundings. 

“Here. I can see it!” The Doctor suddenly exclaims, stopping so suddenly that she almost headbutts his behind. 

“A safe exit?” Oswin asks, hopefully. 

“No. Even better. It’s the TARDIS!” The Doctor cries out happily. 

“Oh. Great. Yay! What’s a TARDIS?” 

“It’s my ship.” He replies, using his sonic screwdriver to open the cover of the vent. It fell to the floor with a loud clatter. 

“Allons-y!” He goes headfirst through the hole, landing on the floor with a loud thump. 

“Oh my god, Doctor, are you okay?” Oswin hurried forward as fast as she could, peering out of the hole down to the Doctor who was brushing himself off. 

“Good as gold. Need any help?” He asks, looking up at her. 

“Just be ready to catch me if I fall.” Oswin replies. Carefully she clambers over the opening then pokes her legs through, easing herself down as gently as she can with arms that feel as though they’re on fire. 

Without being asked the Doctor is there, grabbing her legs and making sure that she won’t crash to the ground like he had. 

“Thanks.” She says brightly as she reaches the floor. 

“You’re welcome.” The Doctor replies with a grin. 

“So, Oswin Oswald, ready to make our daring escape from a planet full of daleks?” He asks her, offering her his arm. She waits a few seconds, feigning indecision, before looping her arm through his and returning the grin. 

“Why yes, Doctor, I think I am. Looks like it will be a tight squeeze but I’m sure we’ll manage.” She responds, eyeing the quaint blue box standing in front of her. 

“Just you wait.” The Doctor says with a laugh, before dramatically raising his free hand into the air and clicking. The doors swung open. 

“Okay. That was impressive, I grant you.” She tells him before stepping over the threshold and into the TARDIS. 

“Huh.” She says with dull surprise, wandering slowly into the room that couldn’t possibly fit inside the small box she’d seen on the outside. 

“Is that all you’ve got? Huh?” The Doctor teases, walking past her and up to the central pillar and console. 

“I’m not really big on dramatics.” She replies. 

“So how does this go? You’re Willy Wonka, I’m Charlie, and this is the Great Glass Elevator? We punch a hole through the roof and the protective shell and we’re off?” She asks, stepping up to the console and leaning towards the Doctor. There’s no need to be as close as she is, not when there’s this much room, but she’s having too much fun getting all up inside his personal space bubble. 

“Oh, right. I haven’t told you yet. You see, my ship isn’t just a spaceship. She’s a little more special than that.” He’s building to something big and she can sense the excitement inside of him threatening to spill over. 

“Don’t say it. I’ll deafen you. I really will.” She’s clutching so hard at the edge of the console she’s concerned she might break it. 

“The TARDIS also travels through time. Ow!” He winces as Oswin’s screams of delight echo around the console room. 

“You mean we can go anywhere? Like, anywhere anywhere?” 

The Doctor nods. “Anywhere, anytime, so long as we don’t cross our own timelines.” He explains. “Since it’s your first trip, how about we make it your choice?” He offers. 

“Anywhere but here, anytime but now. Maybe tomorrow I’ll be able to give you a better answer, but for the moment I just want to forget. Forget about the people I lost, forget about what I nearly became. Tomorrow I’ll mourn, I’ll mourn for them all, but today I want to forget. Can you take me somewhere I can forget?” 

The sadness returns to his eyes but he doesn’t scold her, or suggest that she should confront her grief now. Instead he flicks a few switches and presses a few buttons. 

“Somewhere to forget. I know just the place. You might want to grab some tissues because this moon is so beautiful you’ll cry.” He pulls a lever and with a wheezing sound they take off. 

“Thank you. For saving me.” She says quietly, watching the central pillar move up and down. It’s soothing, a reassuring motion that makes her feel safe. 

“Thank you. For coming with me.” He replies, softly. Silently, without even glancing in his direction, Oswin reaches out and grabs the Doctor’s hand and squeezes it. “Like I was going to let you go without me, pretty boy. No way. I’m going to keep a tight hold on it.” 

“By ‘it’ you mean me, don’t you?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Just checking.”

**Author's Note:**

> I've been meaning to write something like this for a while but then I got really emotionally thinking about Oswin one day and this just happened over the course of an evening. I'm happy to take prompts for Ten/Oswin or Twelve/Clara over at my tumblr (clarasdoctahs.tumblr.com).


End file.
